Bugfriend
History Born in Chengdu, Jeremy was adopted by a couple in Wisconsin at a young age. As someone with high-functioning autism, Jeremy had difficulty in social situations, with no close friends growing up. Somewhere around the age of 13, Jeremy started imagining a small buglike creature named Gar Nesselar, who would talk to him when he was alone. For several years, he assumed that Gar was an imaginary character that he had come up with. However, when he was 16, a security scan at the airport detected an "alien parasite" in his mind. When the parasite was temporarily removed for examination, Jeremy realized it was Gar, who looked just like he had imagined her to look. Gar later admitted that she didn't want Jeremy to realize she was real, because she was afraid of having to leave him. Gar stayed with Jeremy throughout his education at UW-Eau Claire, where he obtained undergraduate degrees in chemistry and physics. While in college, Jeremy and Gar began building a magical armored suit together. Jeremy would occasionally use it to rescue people and property from otherwise dangerous situations, although he found this work difficult; he enjoyed working on the suit more than actually using it. After graduation, Jeremy looked for employment as a superhero, and found an ideal position in Tampa, Florida. Other individuals with access to Iroshan armor and alchemy were appearing, and the U.S. government decided it would be better if everyone knew about it. Although Jeremy's official job was to be the superhero-in-residence at the University of South Florida, he spent most of his time in a lab funded by a federal government grant, studying how the suit worked and how its magic reacted with chemistry and technology. His boss was Ben Washington, who Jeremy knew was secretly the superhero Breakpoint. A year or two later, Gar began to worry that her relationship with Jeremy wasn't progressing; most zhr symbiotes eventually bonded permanently with their hosts, becoming a single individual, and that wasn't going to happen with him. Gar eventually decided to leave for her home planet and return to her old job of building armored suits (similar to Jeremy's) for different host species. Jeremy soon met Mark Retherford in a chance meeting at a hockey game. He introduced Jeremy to his friends Ashley Rathipal (Metalen Meisje) and Mojisola Okowe (Grenadine). Ashley, who was living in the Tampa Bay area to participate in a scripted superhero fighting show called International Superfight, visited Jeremy's lab at the university. Jeremy also ran into Skylar Martinez (Axyridis), another individual with an Iroshan symbiote, who was using her considerable powers to perform minor robberies with varying degrees of success. When Gar briefly returned to Earth a few months later, Jeremy encouraged her to do whatever she wanted to do, and not to worry about him. Gar ultimately decided to stay on her planet for a while. Although Jeremy no longer had a symbiote, he was able to keep doing his job with Skylar's help (and Ben's approval; he thought that Skylar would be a helpful asset in the event of a major threat.) Personality Jeremy is friendly, but he has a hard time in social situations and is usually quiet in loud environments. Powers * Symbiosis - The psychic connection Jerremy has with Gar, developed over the course of several years, enables them to communicate effortlessly in even the most stressful situations. ** Magic / Alchemy - Jeremy builds his suits and equipment by channeling Gar's (and later Tur Ratellar's) innate ability to endow materials with certain magical properties. * Density Control - Jeremy's suit allows him to control (to a certain extent) his own effective mass relative to the outside world. ** Superhuman Durability - Jeremy's suit automatically adjusts his mass to protect him against weapons, objects, and long falls. ** Adhesion - By adjusting the mass of his gloves, kneepads and shoes, Jeremy can increase the friction of his suit to climb walls and ceilings without threating the structural integrity of the surface. * Metamorphosis - Jeremy can ask Gar to transform his body into a variety of insectoid forms (or return it to its original state.) The metamorphisis is not immediate; it usually takes a couple of minutes. Jeremy almost never uses this power, because it makes him incredibly uncomfortable. ** Flight - A few of Jeremy's insectoid forms have functional wings that he can use to fly. Abilities * Science - Jeremy is a quick learner and obtained a deep understanding of physics and chemistry within just a few years, drawing upon this knowledge to create his suits and equipment. Notes Bugfriend is an open source character available for use by anyone. Feel free to use it any way you wish; provided the creator is mentioned. External links * Bugfriend * Bugfriend character profile